Netflix officially has a new popular series and it is a Korean show about cash-strapped contestants competing in children’s games for a cash prize with deadly stakes called “Squid Game”.
The show was released on Sept. 17 and has become Netflix’s biggest debut in history and trending topic online.
“Money makes the world go round” and “money is the root of all evil” are two common phrases used to describe how much power is behind a dollar. “Squid Game” explores the concept of when one is in need of money and how willing one is to get it.
The show is almost like a crossover of other film blockbusters such as “Saw” and “Hunger Games”.
The series takes 456 contestants, who are in debt, and places them in a game-show like setting in an attempt to win a grand prize of 45.6 billion dollars.
While everyone signs up in excitement to win the cash prize, they soon find out in the midst of one of the games, losing also results in death. Each death adds 100 million to the potential 45.6 billion cash prize.
The series stars HoYeon Jung, Lee Jung-jae (“Deliver Us From Evil”, “The Housemaid”), and Gong Yoo (“Silenced”, “The Age of Shadows”). The creator of the series is Hwang Dong-hyuk (“Silenced”, “20 Once Again”).
Seong Gi-Hun, portrayed by Jung-jae, is a chauffeur who is invited to play a series of games for the cash prize, and is the main character of the show.
Gi-Hun begins to become allies with other characters to better each other’s chances of winning the game. Allies include his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo, who is played by Park Hae Soo (“Prison Playbook”, “Memories of the Alhambra”).
“Squid Game” is an action packed series with blood and gore and a storyline to captivate the audience.
Though the first few episodes may have a slower pace, as it sets up background stories of the characters, the gracefully shot fight scenes and suspenseful game scenes make up for it in the long run.
The show graciously executes ways to create connections between the characters and the audience through intimate shots and storytelling.
One thing that I did not like about the show is the pacing of the first few episodes. The show moved slow in pacing in efforts to to give character background stories.
It can get a bit easy for new viewers to lose interest in early episodes.
On the other hand, one thing that I did like is the realism of how something like this could happen in the real world due to people being in such dire circumstances.
The characters in the show speak Korean and there is an option of English voiceovers and English subtitles.
While the English dubs and subtitles are not the perfect match, it makes the viewing experience easier for the English speaking audience.
Ultimately, the series has an abundance of hype and excitement behind it for a reason and meets its critical acclaim.